Disposable mop



D. K. GRIFFIN DISPOSABLE MOP Jan. 9, 1968 Filed April 25, 1966 INVENTOR. DANA K. GRIFFIN AT TOPNEYS United States Patent M 3,362,037 DISPOSABLE MOP Dana K. Grillin, Detroit, Mich., assignor of fifty percent to John R. Wilson, Birmingham, Mich. Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 544,883 1 Claim. (Cl. 15--229) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention disclosed herein relates to a disposable mop wherein a mop head is releasably engaged with a handle and easily separable therefrom for disposal. It is intended that the mop head be of extremely light weight and formed of foamed plastic polystyrene that is shaperetaining and also deformable and an important feature of the mop relates to a mop element in the form of strands for the absorption of dust and liquids.

This invention relates generally to the mop art, and more particularly to an improved mop having a disposable mop element.

The prior art dust mops and the like have many inherent disadvantages. For example, they normally employ a permanent type metal frame over which is mounted the envelope type head of the mop. The attaching of a prior art mop pad on a permanent type mop frame takes time since this attaching and detaching operation must be carried out every time it is desired to attach a new mop element or detach an old mop element for cleaning the same. Another disadvantage of such prior art mops is that they must be cleaned, treated and sterilized repeatedly when the mop is used in a hospital. A further disadvantage is that the hard metal frames of the prior art mops mar furniture when the furniture is inadvertently hit by the mop, despite the fact that the frames may be covered by a piece of canvas or the like.

In view of the foregoing it is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved mop element which is adapted to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art mop pads.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved low cost mop element which is prelaundered, pretreated to pick up dirt, pretreated hygienically for use in hospitals, and which may be thrown away when it becomes dirty.

It is a further object to provide an improved mop element which is compact and simple in construction, light in weight, economicalto manufacture, and efficient in use.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a labor-saving mop element for use in hospitals and the like, because it does not need re-cleaning, treating and sterilizing.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved mop which includes a carrier member made from a lightweight material, as for example a foamed plastic material as expanded polystyrene.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved mop element which includes a carrier member or head made from a deformable material which is adapted to hold its shape despite its ability to be deformed and to absorb shock, means carried by said carrier member for attaching the mop element to a mop handle, and a mop element material attached to the carrier member.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, appended claim and the accompanying drawing.

3,362,637 Patented Jan. 9, 1968 In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the various parts of the mop of the present invention in the order in which they are assembled together;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mop made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, elevational view, with parts in section and parts broken away, and showing the mop of the present invention attached to a mop handle;

FIG. 4 is an elevational section view of the mop structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 4--4 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

FIG. 5 is an elevational section view of the mop structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken along the line 5-5 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the numeral 10 generally indicates a mop made in accordance with the principles of the present invention and which is adapted to be operatively secured by any suitable means to a conventional mop handle, as illustrated generally by the numeral 11.

As shown in the drawings, the mop pad 10 includes the mop carrier member or mop head 12 which is illustrated as being substantially rectangular in overall configuration. The mop carrier member 12 may be made from any suitable material. However, the mop carrier 1 member 12 is preferably made from a shape retaining but deformable material, such as a suitable foamed plastic material, as expanded polystyrene.The mop carrier member 12 is provided on he upper side thereof with a central, longitudinally disposed, elongated, concave recess or indentation indicated by the numeral 13 which is adapted to receive a means for fastening the mop to the mop handle 11, as more fully described hereinafter. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a pair of slots 14 and 15 are formed through the mop carrier member 12 at the opposite ends of the concave recess 13. The recess 13 and the slots 14 and 15 may be formed in the mop carrier member 12 by any suitable means, as by a suitable fixture and press.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the mop of the present invention is provided with suitable means, for

attaching the mop to the mop handle 11, in the form of ears 18 and 19 which extend upwardly and perpendicular to the body portion 17. The cars 18 and 19 are adapted to extend through the slots 14 and 15, respectively, with the clip body 17 engaging the lower surface of the carrier member 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the clip body 17 is recessed slightly in the bottom of the carrier member 12 but the clip body 17 may be disposed against the lowor surface of the carrier member 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clip cars 18 and 19 are provided with the holes 20 and 21, respectively, for the reception of the hereinafter described mop handle attachment means. The clip 16 is adapted to be held in place on the carrier member 12 by any suitable means, as by the rectangularly shaped clip board 22. The clip board 22 is made from a suitable material, as for example, cardboard, and it is secured to the lower or bottom side of the carrier member 12 and by any suitable means, as by a suitable glue. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the clip board 22 is formed to a smaller overall dimension than the carrier member 12.

The numeral 24 indicates the mop element which is made from any suitable material and which is secured to a backing canvas 23 in the usual manner. The canvas 23 is then glued to the lower side of the clip board 22 and to the underside of the carrier member or backing member 12 around the lower face periphery thereof about the periphery of the clip board 22. The mop element 24 is prelaundered and pretreated with a germicide agent which will kill staph germs and it is pretreated to pick up dirt. The mop element 24 may be made from any suitable absorbent material well known to those skilled in the mop art, such as cotton or felt strands, sponge rubber, or other well known mop materials.

The numeral 25 in FIGS. 1 and 3 generally indicates a suitable means for attaching the mop to the handle 11. The mop pad attachment means 25 comprises a tube or sleeve 26 which is fixed to the lower end of the mop handle 11 by any suitable means, as by a press fit. The lower end of the tube 26 is provided with an elongated, axially extended slot 27 in which is mounted the upper rounded end of a plate 28. The plate 28 is pivotally mounted in the slot 27 by any suitable means as by the pivot pin 29. Integrally formed on the lower end of the plate 28 is a tube 30 which is disposed perpendicular to the axis of the hinge pin 29. A first pivot pin 31 is fixedly mounted in one end of the tube 30 and extends outwardly from the tube 30. A second pivot pin 32 is slidably mounted in the other end of the tube 30 and is biased outwardly by means of a spring 33 which is seated inside of the tube 30 and which abuts the inner ends of the pins 31 and 32. A slot 35 is formed in the side of the tube 30 and projecting through the slot 35 is the rod 34 which has its lower end fixed to the movable pin 32. The rod 34 limits the axial outward movement of the pin 32 and it also functions as an operator means by which the pin 32 may be moved inwardly to permit the attachment means 25 to be fastened to the clip 16 on the mop pad 10.

The mop handle attachment means 25 may be quickly and easily secured to the clip cars 18 and 19 by moving the operator rod 34 inwardly to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1, whereby the fixed pivot pin 31 may be inserted through the hole 20 in the clip ear 18 and the tube 30 moved down into the elongated recess 13. The rod 34 is then released and the spring 33 will move the pivot pin 32 through the hole 21 in the clip car 19. It will be seen that the mop handle attachment means 25 is thus pivotly mounted to the clip 16, and that the pivot pin 29 permits the mop to be swung on an axis perpendicular to the axis of the pivot pins 31 and 32 during use thereof.

The disposable mop element of the present invention is adapted to be used in the same manner as the prior art mops. However, it will be seen that the disposable mop element of the present invention' is a labor saving device and is economical, since for hospital use it does not need recleaning, treating, and sterilizing for further use. The mop element of the present invention is economical to make and accordingly, it may be used only once and then disposed of. The use of expanded or foamed polystyrene to make the carrier member or head 12 provides a mop which is lighter in weight than the prior art of mops and which is easier to use. The mop element of the present invention may be sold in a sealed bag to prevent contamination of the treated mop during shipment and storage before it is used. It will be seen that the mop element of the present invention may be quickly and easily removed from the bag in which it is sold in the store and quickly mounted on the mop handle 11 for fast and efficient use.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the inventioin is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What I claim is:

1. A disposable mop element adapted to be releasably attached to a mop handle by a mop element attaching means comprising the combination of:

(a) a carrier member made of lightweight material which is shape-retaining but deformable;

(b) means for attaching the carrier member to the attachment means on the mop handle;

(c) an absorbent material constituting the mop element formed of strands and fixed to the carrier member;

(d) said carrier member being made from foamed plastic polystyrene;

(e) and said means for attaching the carrier member to said handle comprising clip means embedded in the carrier member and including a pair of spacedapart apertured ears projecting upwardly from the carrier member and adapted to be releasably engaged by the attaching means on the mop handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,840,023 1/ 1932 Couture 15-244 1,843,008 1/1932 Waters 15-228 2,469,060 5/1949 Vosbikian et al 15-119.1 2,704,375 3/1955 Haeusser 15-506 2,715,744 8/1955 Ljungdahl 15-1191 2,880,443 4/ 1959 Le Febvre 15-244 2,916,759 12/1959 Smith 15-231 X 3,015,834 1/1962 Marrinson et al 15-506 X 3,188,671 6/1965 Kane 3,081,479 3/1963 Hanlon 15-244 X 3,283,357 11/1966 Decker et a1 15-506 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,082 3/ 1912 Great Britain. 928,986 6/1963 Great Britain.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

